Calif. Minimum Wage Set to Increase to One of Highest in Nation

by Christopher Freeburn | September 13, 2013 12:07 pm

[1]On Thursday, California’s legislature adopted a bill that would boost the state’s minimum wage to a new high.[2]

The law would require employers to increase hourly worker pay from a minimum of $8 per hour this year to $10 per hour by January 2016. Governor Jerry Brown had previously expressed reservations about the bill, but will sign it into law after last minute changes that delayed full implementation until 2016, NBC News notes.

Republicans in both the state senate and assembly opposed the law, arguing that it will force small employers to cut workers and imperil the Golden State’s fragile economic recovery.

Other states are looking at similar increases in their minimum wage requirements. Washington state’s minimum wage law already includes inflation adjustments that could push it to $10 per hour by 2016.

Earlier this year, Walmart (WMT[3]) threatened to stop construction of three new stores in Washington D.C.[4] if the city council approved a law requiring large retailers to pay a higher minimum wage.

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